Did I Tell You ?

Did I tell you I got a new camera for Christmas ?

Hmmm... I'm sorry I forgot to mention that.

Well, I probably didn't mention it because I've been so busy taking pictures of these beauties.

I'm pretty sure that I could take pictures of little cuties, all the Live Long Day!!

In fact, I think that I might just do that. 

Ok, now that we covered what I've been doing with my new camera let me tell you, that although my camera (A Nikon D3100) is a fancy pants camera,  I'm pretty sure It couldn't make these cuties any cuter even if it tried.  Say that five times fast!

Don't you agree? Aren't they just  SO  Ca HUTE !! I'm talking  Cute with a capital C. Now that I don't have babies of my own I enjoy the time with other peoples babies immensely. Could you tell? It's not at all obvious is it?

The Sweetest Things

I get a whole weekend away with this guy.

I am beyond excited about it.

He's still my favorite.

I can't disclose what we will be doing, I'm sworn to secrecy.

But I will say we will be in California. 

Palm Trees here we come.

This Giant of mine turns 41 this week.

I remember when he was 21 and we got engaged. 

"A blue eyed boy meets a brown eyed girl"

I was only 19.

We have been besties for 20 years.

He's my pal.

He's my lover.

He's my 24/7 comedian.

I feel pretty blessed, really blessed to be his Brown Eyed Girl. 

More On My New Years Word, Yoga, and A Book Review

They say that to be really good at Yoga it's all about balance and flexibility. Maybe that's why I have always loved this practice. From the very first time I experienced a Yoga class I was hooked, because I had finally found an exercise I could be good at.  You see, I've always had really good physical balance. I remember being a young girl in gymnastics class walking across the balance beam just for fun and challenging myself to different balance exercises.

But balance in life is a completely different beast than that of balance in the physical world.  In Yoga they are trying to get at the whole person when they speak of balance.
It's not just standing on one foot like a flamingo that is impressive in Yoga. Come to think of it, nothing is impressive in yoga because it's not about impressing, but rather being able to be so completely focused on what you are doing that you can close your eyes and your inner world is in balance as well.
I suppose one of the reasons I have chosen the word Balance for my New Years word is because the older I'm getting the more I'm realizing how vital it is to have balance in ALL things. So much of life, and it's hidden treasures comes from when I keep things in Balance and have flexibility. 
The world around us is in a constant state of motion and chaos, and it's so very easy to get off balance. Just when I think I have one area of life all neatly wrapped up and manageable, there comes another area of life to smack me in the face as a wake up call. Those smacks are painful, and I don't always handle them well.  Remember when I heard we were moving back to Nevada? SMACK!! And, I'm sorry to say my reaction (at first) was not all that balanced. Those are the kind of moments in life that I want look back on and know that I handled them well, or at least better than I have in the past. 

One of my new favorite quotes that I  recently read in the book, Room by Emma Donahue is  "The world is suddener than we fancy it."  The quote is originally from Louis MacNiece, but Dr. Clay in the book says it in response to something the main character, 5 year old Jack, says to him.
The book Room is about a 5 year old boy named Jack, who was born inside a tiny room that his mother had been kidnapped to as a 19 year old girl. That quote is taken from a blurb in the book where Jack, the little boy is trying to explain why he doesn't like the outside world as opposed to the Room he was born into. Imagine, if all you ever knew as your existence was a teeny, tiny room that nothing ever changed in? I mean, a spider was the highlight of this little boys day!
It is the perfect quote to say to Jack, who is having a hard time getting used to how fast the world around him just keeps coming at him.  By the way, this book Room is without a doubt a fascinating read. It's not one I would have chosen myself because the topic is very dark, but it was a book club choice.  I'm telling you, you won't be able to put it down. 
Back to the quote in the book,
When I read it I thought about what a true statement that is because in life things are always changing and most of the time we receive no warning.  To stay in perfect balance when all the rest of the world is in chaos is truly a gift. For me THE only time this ever happens (perfect balance) is when I practice keeping my eyes on my Creator.   "You will keep in perfect peace, those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you."  Isaiah 26:3
To me, this is the epitome of balance.
A steadfast mind and a heart that is in a constant state of perfect peace despite the chaotic world around you. It really doesn't get anymore balanced than that.  It begins by trusting someone greater than yourself. Knowing full well that although I don't have all the answers to life's unrelenting questions, I can trust fully that someone does.  Like a new born baby trusts that his parent will nurture, care, and protect them. I have seen a baby fall asleep at some of the most chaotic, noise filled, concert-like events.  And yet, the baby sleeps. Trusting that all the crazies running around them won't bother them a bit because they trust whoever is holding them.  It makes me happy to think about things like this. It calms my soul to know I am being held like that infant child.  
                "Happiness is not a matter of intensity but of balance, order, rhythm and harmony."
 

Happy New Year Ramblings

Happy Happy New Year Beloved Reader! I sure hope your holidays were filled with love and laughter.  Mine were filled with love, laughter and a whole lotta busy! I feel like I have been running full speed ahead since middle of November and let me remind you this girl doesn't like to run. In fact my New Years word is Balance due to the fact that I feel I need to balance all this busy in my life that 9 times out of 10 isn't even my own busy.  Ya know what I'm saying? Any momma of more than a couple kids gets it. I feel like I'm constantly running everywhere for everyone but ME, and most days I don't mind that. I'm thankful my life is full of busy, because that means it's full of beloved people, but I also know that running all the time is not good. I don't know how I know this since like I said I'm not a runner, but I just know it in my knower. So part of finding balance for me in this New Year I think is going to look like planning to do things that I want to do.  Things that feed my soul. Things that make my heart sing. Things like NOT running. Although this girl doesn't like running..

She does however like to write and today feels like a good day to check in and write a few things here with you.  Where should we start? Let's have a conversation about the aftermath of Christmas decor.  Am I the only one who feels a tad bit resentful about the after clean up process of Christmas? I feel as though decorating for Christmas is a task that primarily falls on the woman and the aftermath of Christmas (aka what to do with the Christmas tree) should fall on the man. Call me old fashioned, but I'm so glad my Giant takes care of getting rid of that big gianormous tree that is now dropping pine needles left and right.  But I have to say that after the tree is gone and I take a look around,  I'm a tad bit overwhelmed by all the fun I had putting tinsel on everything and ornaments everywhere. Every year when I bring out the ahem... 8 or 9 boxes of Christmas decor I think to myself... "Self... ya know this is going to take all of January to clean up." But I put it all out anyways because the kids love it and well... I guess I must too.  How do you feel about it all?

Well ... so Christmas clean up, not my favorite, but in the end I feel only slightly resentful about it for a minute until I remember how nice it is to have a nice clean, crisp, streamline, simplified looking house.  Psh.... that's funny! I don't think my house and simplified are two words that would ever go together. No, because after December comes January. And we all know what that means decor wise...  I bring out the snowmen ;)  Yes, I decorate with snowmen in January. Doesn't everyone? I suppose I just can't say goodbye to all the fun so quickly and so I prolong it with cute little snowmen. Speaking of cute little things my niece Sophia just turned two.  She's aka Last Minute Biscuit (to me) because her birthday falls on December 31st .   She's the cootie pa tootie in the Minnie Mouse ears! Ugh... isn't she just scrum diddly ump tious? I get cuteness overload every time I see her sweet little face.

We had her party here right after Christmas. It was such a treat to be here and not be a part of this event via Skype. We had all the cousins together again which was a real treat. These two young men were babies just like yesterday! Now they are only months away from entering the teen years, and I have to say my heart just about skipped a beat when I saw this picture. This is cousin Jaydn and my son Solomon. Gah... cuteness overload again!

I'm in for a world of hurt when these Fab 4 kids of mine start flying from this nest. Lemme, just go on record now and say, that nothing will ever prepare this momma for something like the ugly words;  EMPTY NEST, BUT when I read things like this;  Geocashing with The Grandkids well it makes me smile. Stephanie is the bomb diggity! If you haven't discovered Honey(that's what her grandkids call her) well then your life is just not fully, full yet!! She is handling the empty nest phase of life, like a champ! And every now and then I need to go read her stuff to remind myself that there is life after the nest is empty. She has three grown daughters that are Be You Tee Full! And this reminds me that when I'm finished raising these beauties they WILL come back to me ;) This is a picture of cousin Brenna, cousin Breezy, and my oldest Daughter Emma. Did I mention these beautiful young ladies were babies just yesterday?  Sigh... cuteness beauty overload!

I'm not sure why Chloe wasn't in this pic, maybe??  Oh yea that's right.. not only did we have the party here, but my 13 year old Chloe made niece Sophia's Minnie cake. Can I just brag for a minute? My Sweet Lo lo is an aspiring baker.  I think she has proven time and again that she is quite the artist when it comes to all things pastry. I'm so very proud of her.

Oh, and Did I mention that not only does she make beautiful cakes she is an amazingly, stunning 13 year old girl that has legs for days and isn't even in High School yet? Eye cahrumba !! I'm in trouble! I mean would look at those two beauties below!!! Cuteness, Beauty, LEGS overload! Ok, I'll calm down now.  Deep breaths.  I do take comfort in the fact that their dad is a ... well you know I don't call him My Giant cause he's teeny. So at least there is that.

Well now that I have done my fair share of allotted bragging for the month of January I should probably go so you don't start to tune me out. I have missed you beloved reader. I'm hoping to be back into a better blogging swing soon, but in the meantime know that there is ... For YOU!!